Sarah Shevenock

By Sarah Shevenock Top Stories U.S. movie admissions and box office earnings decreased in the second quarter, with admissions down 2.5 percent to 347.8 million and earnings down 3.8 percent to $3.22 billion, suggesting 2019’s total box office is unlikely to match the record performance of 2018. Individual ticket prices fell 12 cents year-over-year to […]

By Sarah Shevenock Top Stories Netflix Inc. reported second-quarter revenue totaling $4.92 billion and U.S. subscribers numbers falling by 126,000 after Netflix had previously predicted an increase of 300,000 U.S. subscribers. Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann attributed the subscriber loss to price increases, saying that the streamer saw “some elevated churn rates and lower retention” […]

By Sarah Shevenock Top Stories “Game of Thrones” scored 32 nominations for the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, a record for any show in a single season and helping HBO garner 137 nominations overall. HBO beat out Netflix Inc. in total nods, bolstered by miniseries “Chernobyl” which earned 19 nominations, and comedies “Barry” and “Veep” which […]

By Sarah Shevenock Top Stories CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. have set Aug. 8 — the date both companies report second-quarter financials — as an internal target for agreeing to a potential merger, according to people familiar with the matter. Speculation of a merger has been circulating for more than a year, with controlling shareholder […]

By Sarah Shevenock Top Stories FX+, the $5.99-a-month streaming service featuring episodes of FX programs such as “American Horror Story” and “Sons of Anarchy,” will shut down Aug. 20 as Walt Disney Co. prepares to move that content to Hulu. No subscriber numbers for the service were ever disclosed, but FX Chief Executive John Landgraf […]

By Sarah Shevenock Week in Review Streaming  WarnerMedia’s HBO Max streaming service has acquired the rights to “Friends” and is set to pay $425 million to exclusively carry the sitcom for five years beginning in 2020, according to a person familiar with the terms. The service, which will have a limited launch later this year […]

By Sarah Shevenock Top Stories R. Kelly has been arrested in Chicago in relation to 13 federal charges of child pornography and other crimes, with federal prosecutors expected to file additional charges in a separate indictment today, according to two law enforcement officials. Kelly, who is set be arraigned today, is already facing state charges […]